William Hay, winner of 3 Kenneth R. Wilson Writing Awards and Folio Award, Canadian Author Association member,author of Caesarean Section and Love Between the Sacred and Profane poetry books, and Psychiatry and Addiction, Personal Perspective book, magazine short story and prose columnist.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Handel's Messiah was a wonderful experience tonight. The Vancouver Bach Choir, founded in 1930, was a thorough delight. What a rush to join the full house of the Orpheum rising en mass to the Hallelujah chorus. The Vancouver Symphony strings were transcendent, t

he horn and kettle drums so impressive. Leslie Dala is the Music Director of the Vancouver Bach Choir. Tonight he was the finest conductor. Soprano Allison Angelo stole the show with pure notes rising from the depths of her soul and filling the Opheum on wings. Having so enjoyed tenor Colin Ainsworth's clarity with the Vancouver Opera in Lillian Ailing this fall it was a delight to hear him so soon again. Mezzo Soprano Lauren Segal was certainly a presence while Alexander Dobson's baritone had power. Laura and I were so thankful that Baptist Ivan and Anglican Anne were already going so Anglican me and Catholic Laura could mobilize to come along. What more thoroughly radical way to begin a Christmas season than to attend the utterly politically incorrect Handel's Messiah!

About Me

I began writing travel stories in grade 3. My mother was a journalist. I started publishing poetry and photography in high school. Dancing and acting followed with study in England with the world champion after bicycling across Europe. Medical school was also a time of canoeing and cross country skiing. Dad was a great outdoorsman. Country general practice was followed by northern fly in medicine. Completing a medicine fellowship and specializing in psychiatry, I did my California medical examinations before returning north to British Columbia where I began big game hunting, chicken farmed and sailed. Eventually, I solo sailed to Hawaii through winter storms. An island psychiatrist in Saipan, the weekly scuba diving was spectacular.Back in Canada, living on the sailboat,my Harley Davidson motorcycle became a whole new source of adventure.
Raised Baptist, I taught sunday school for the United Church and eventually became Anglican a decade back. Bible study, Yogananda, Tai Chi, AA, celtic and native studies all added to that ecumenical Christian spirituality.
Blessed by a loving family, beautiful partners, friends, pets and resilient house plants, life's a miracle.